As a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates and progressive causes, I understand the anger at the Republicans’ mistreatment of Judge Merrick Garland after he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama. Partisan advantage reigned over fairness of process, and an exceptionally fine jurist was treated shabbily.
But as Judge Neil Gorsuch — President Donald Trump’s choice for the court seat that Garland would have filled — approaches his confirmation hearings, I fear that the lingering resentments of the past year will cloak a fair consideration of him as a nominee. Gorsuch — my former law partner and longtime friend — is brilliant, diligent, open-minded and thoughtful. He was the only Supreme Court candidate considered by this administration that I could support. The Senate should confirm him because there is no principled reason to vote no.
